BOYS BASKETBALL: Pottsgrove stops slide, sinks Owen J. Roberts

But the Falcons had emphatic responses for practically every other aspect of their Pioneer Athletic Conference clash with the Wildcats. And that spoke volumes about their 60-49 victory in a divisional crossover contest — one that enabled them to snuff a five-game losing streak and reignite hopes for getting back in the circuit’s postseason picture.

“I’m happy for the kids,” Pottsgrove head coach Scott Palladino said afterward, sporting a big smile to underscore his joy. “We’ve been struggling since Christmas. You never know how the kids are going to bounce back.”

To be sure, the 18 points Crider collected primarily through a second-half surge weren’t far removed from a 21 points-per-game average ranking near the top of the PAC-10 and The Mercury’s coverage area. But it didn’t qualify as a game high; that honor went to Pottsgrove sophomore Mike Fowler, who hit for 20 with help from a 13-point fourth quarter. And senior teammate Kareem Boyd added another 18 to finish even with Crider on the night.

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Those efforts proved key for Pottsgrove (3-4, 4-8 overall) in a game that was up for grabs until it went on a seven-point run with 2:20 left. The home team further helped its cause by not allowing the ‘Cats (0-7, 3-10) to make successive baskets more than two times the entire time ... and not once over the game’s final 10-1/2 minutes.

“It was seesaw a little bit,” Palladino admitted, “but we were able to expand our lead in transition. And when we went into a 1-3-1 trap (defense), that switched things up a little bit.”

Outside Crider’s double-figure scoring, and another 10-point effort from Sam Murphy, there wasn’t much else for OJR head coach Chris Talley to cheer about regarding the night’s proceedings. The visitors came out of the first quarter up 12-10, but their last lead proved to be a 22-21 edge when Sean Kent (eight points) buried a 3-point basket 30 seconds into the second half.

“When you give up 10 offensive rebounds in the first quarter, and 10 turnovers in the first half, you’re not going to do it,” Talley said. “They denied us the ball and switched everything on us. They physically manhandled us.”

To contend with Crider’s hot-shooting tendencies, Pottsgrove rotated four players — Fowler, Marquise Barefield, Mark Dukes and Boyd — on the OJR junior. That strategy left Crider scoring just six points in a first half punctuated by a back-and-forth second stanza, and just four in the critical fourth.

“That was the key going in, to stop him,” Palladino said. “Anytime you can hold him to 18 points, that’s big. We wore him down, keeping bodies on him.”

With Boyd making two put-back baskets in a 25-second span, and Graves hitting a “three” at the 5:18 mark in the third, Pottsgrove opened a 28-22 lead that was its biggest at that point in the game. From the 35-32 edge they took into the fourth quarter, the Falcons went back-and-forth with their guests until Boyd and Fowler scored back-to-back for a 47-40 advantage with 4:06 to go.

Another exchange of baskets made it a 49-44 game before the Falcons pulled away with seven points in less than a minute. Boyd had three off a free throw and basket, Fowler made both ends of a one-and-one, and Graves (eight points) put in a layup for a double-figure (56-44) lead with 1:29 left.

“We can build off this,” Palladino said. “Four of our last six games are at home. Sitting 3-4 ... it’s crazy, but we still have a shot.

“It’s good to get back on track.”

NOTES

Pottsgrove had a 34-28 edge in rebounding, and it forced OJR into 18 turnovers while committing 13. ... Roberts was slightly better from the floor, making 45.2 percent of its shots (19-for-42) against Pottsgrove’s 43.5 percent (23-for-53) accuracy. ... Palladino expressed satisfaction with the play of Jahlique Jones, who was inserted into the starting lineup this week. “He’s rounding into form,” Palladino said of the senior forward, who chipped in with five points. “He was inconsistent early, but he’s now doing a lot of different things for us.”

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